Meet Jay | Photographer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jay and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jay, why did you pursue a creative career?
Well, I’ve always had a thing for imagery since I was a kid, I’ve always been fascinated by cameras and pictures and I feel like nobody creates an image like me when it comes to colors and shadows, so naturally I had to pursue my dream to show the world what I see when I envision a scene.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
What sets me apart from others goes back to what I mentioned earlier and that being colors and shadows, I feel like nobody in the city does what I do and can’t even come close to it. I’m a true night owl so naturally, I shoot most photoshoots, at night which contributes even more to the color and shadow play. Also, most of my clients are from the music field, I was a DJ growing up and have a strong love for music in general so naturally, I gravitated towards the music scene, my friend Rob owning the music studio and me being around music for as long as I can remember, it was only a matter of time before I realized this field was meant for me to be in primarily. And as far as where Im at professionally, it most definitely felt easy, most times it feels like Im not even trying favorite song lyric is from Travis Scott Stop Trying To Be God “ride for it every night, visions and these angles tight, truth be told I never try.” I get tons of praise and compliments from people on my work and it honestly just comes naturally for me, my photographer eye is and always has been strong because I’ve always felt like I see things most people wouldn’t see when it comes to capturing an image. And the biggest lesson I’ve learned is patience. Success doesn’t come overnight and that lesson is what I want everybody to know about my brand as well as my story.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Honestly lol Im a homebody who deals with anxiety and sometimes depression so the “scene” isn’t really my thing, I don’t drink, smoke or anything like that so if that friend was visiting, we’d be hanging out at the workplace which is the studio and if they wanted to eat, we may take a ride out to Piggie Pies for pizza, me and my circle kinda made that place our lil “spot” for eating and chillin. Other than that, lol we wouldn’t be out much.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
As far as shout outs when it comes to mentorship, I can only think of one person, Rob who is like a brother to me runs a music label here in the city and that label goes by Healthy Habitz. We grew up together and he’s always chased his dream and is a huge creative as well so naturally he inspired me to chase my dream and has always been along side me while I’ve been at it to offer anything and everything I need when it comes to entrepreneurship.

Instagram: @Jayputyouon